Owner of Beachwood Place, Other Ohio Malls Files Bankruptcy; Malls Still Open

Chicago-based General Growth Properties is a real estate trust that owns and manages over 200 malls and developments across the country. The company has been wrestling with a massive amount of debt that it has been unable to refinance or find investors for because of the credit crunch. In Ohio, General Growth Properties owns Beachwood Place, Toledo's The Shops at Fallen Timbers, Zanesville's Colony Squares Mall and Cincinnati's Kenwood Towne Center. However Kenwood Town Center mall is the only Ohio property that did not file for Chapt.11 individually. A company spokeswoman says that's because Kenwood is jointly owned with another firm. Beachwood Place's management office says the mall's stores are open for business as usual. In February, General Growth Properties reported over $5 billion in debt that creditors could call due.